DUSHANBE, September 15, 2015, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan on September 15 hosted one-day summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Participants of the meeting, chaired by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, adopted a number of documents.
Speaking at a press conference following the meeting, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan noted that they had signed a number of documents and agreements, including on cooperation on carrying military contingents, their movable estate as well as military-purpose products.
The meeting participants also signed a protocol on extension of the period of validity of an agreement on the logistics and technical support of railways in the CSTO member nations.
The meeting endorsed the Organization budget for the next year, Sargsyan said.
Armenia will take over the one-year presidency in the CSTO from Tajikistan.
The CSTO approves decision on rotation of secretary general’s post
The CSTO member nations have approved a decision on introducing rotation of the post of the secretary general, CSTO chief Nikolay Bordyuzha said on Tuesday.
“It was considered useful to switch in the future to the rotation system of the general secretary’s post. The heads of states set the task to devise a respective draft decision by December and introduce changes to the legal basis and the CSTO Charter, what we will do now,” Bordyuzha said.
The regional security organization was initially formed in 1992 for a five-year period by the members of the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) — Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which were joined by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Belarus the following year. A 1994 treaty reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force, and prevented signatories from joining any “other military alliances or other groups of states” directed against members states. The CST was then extended for another five-year term in April 1999, and was signed by the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. In October 2002, the group was renamed as the CSTO. Uzbekistan that suspended its membership in 1999 returned to the CSTO again in 2006 after it came under international criticism for its brutal crackdown of antigovernment demonstrations in the eastern city of Andijon in May 2005. On June 28, 2012, Uzbekistan announced that it has suspended its membership of the CSTO, saying the organization ignores Uzbekistan and does not consider its views. The CSTO is currently an observer organization at the United Nations General Assembly.
